A dozen students in the Columbus area used their spring break week to get hands-on experience constructing a 3-D printer that could spark some personal creativity.
The week-long workshop at Purdue Polytechnic Columbus gave participants an opportunity to build their own 3-D printer from scratch and take it home with them, said Matt Ferrell, metrology laboratory manager at Purdue Polytechnic Columbus.
The $400 workshop was designed to give exposure to the 3-D printing process, Ferrell said.
Many individuals who sign up often don’t have experience using tools or buildings things, but that’s not an impediment for a course that welcomes beginners, he said.
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“They don’t need a mechanical background,” Ferrell said.
A display table in the workshop area gave students some ideas on what they could create with 3-D printers from plastic materials. Examples included tires for hobby-size race cars in different sizes and textures, a prosthetic hand, sculptures and figurines such as a spaceman.
Ferrell said 3-D printers have practical uses, and can save people money on parts for home projects. For example, brackets found in kitchen cabinets can made using the 3-D printers by finding a model online, he said.
The instructor said he has designed cup holders for his vehicle, which has helped keep his drinks from tipping over. Toys and other gadgets also can be made.
Custom 3-D files available on the Internet show users what they can make on the fused filament fabrication printers with the software, he said.
“This opens a completely new realm for learning and what they can do in general,” Ferrell said. “You can invent something and bring it to your hand.”
Ferrell said the technology involving 3-D printers came out in 1981, with the first patent issued in 1986. Many early 3-D printers used laser technology, but the process has evolved with the use of a powder base filled with glue as a liner, he said.
The cost of 3-D printers with a basic kit start at $230 to $250, but that doesn’t include the cost of tools needed to assemble the printers — which were included in kits provided to workshop participants, Ferrell said.
On the high end, an industrial 3-D printer on the campus of Purdue Polytechnic Columbus carries a price tag of $40,000, he said.
Some people may have first learned about 3-D printers on pop-culture television.
In a January 2013 episode of the CBS comedy, “The Big Bang Theory,” the characters of Howard and Raj spend $5,000 on a 3-D printer to create action figures in their likenesses.
Student reactions
North Vernon resident Caleb Jones, a freshman at Purdue Polytechnic Columbus studying information technology, was looking forward to seeing what he could develop with his 3-D printer.
“I like to make things,” Jones said. “The possibilities are endless.”
Seymour resident Richard Rohde, a junior at IUPUC on spring break from his studies in mechanical engineering, said he had never used a 3-D printer until this week and plans to use his self-built device to do class projects.
Columbus resident Ben Beach, a home-schooled high school junior, hopes to use his printer to create parts to fix his fishing rod.
“I don’t really want to shell out a lot of money (for parts),” Beach said.
And down the road, Beach said he might be able to save some cash by making things on his own, calling the class a good learning experience.
“It kind of opens your eyes,” he said.
A younger member of the class got involved after seeing a 3-D printer during the Girl Up! program last fall at Columbus North High School.
Natalie Sanders, 11, attended that program, geared toward increasing interest among fifth- and sixth-grade girls in science, technology, engineering and math.
Natalie, a fifth-grader at Columbus Signature Academy Lincoln Campus, said she aspires to be an engineer, chemist or an architect someday.
She was joined at the workshop by her grandfather, Mike Engelstad, an engineer, who helped her assemble her printer.
Natalie hadn’t yet decided what she would make.
“Anything I can, really,” Sanders said. “You can make anything you want.”
Engelstad, who also lives in Columbus, said he enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with his granddaughter.
“It’s been a spectacular time to bond,” he said.
Ensuring the 3-D printers are functionally properly before they are sent home is one aspect of Ferrell’s role as workshop leader. That also involves testing the devices to create something, he said.
“You don’t leave here without a part,” he said. “After that, the sky’s the limit.”
Ferrell, who will also lead week-long workshops in May and June at Purdue Polytechnic Columbus, said the 3-D printers are intended for everyone to use.
“It definitely helps boost their creativity,” he said. “It creates whatever you’re looking at or thinking of.”
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Purdue Polytechnic Columbus will offer two upcoming 3D printing workshops in May and June.
May 21-25 from 9 a.m. to noon at the campus, 4444 Kelly St., in the Advanced Manufacturing Center for Excellence building. Enrollment for the May session is open through May 18 at www.purdue.edu/columbus.
A second session will be held June 11-15 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. also at the Advanced Manufacturing Center for Excellence building. For more information, contact Matt Ferrell, metrology laboratory manager, at 812-348-2045 or e-mail [email protected].
The $400 workshop fee includes all course content, 3D printer materials, software and accessories. Participants should be at least 12 years, with a parent or guardian required to attend the workshop for individuals under the age of 18.
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